Ballot Measure on Benefits Delayed
The Los Angeles City Council has voted to delay a ballot measure calling for a reduction in the time survivors of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty have to wait for cost-of-living adjustments to their benefits.
Faced with a projected $600,000 bill to place the Charter amendment measure on the ballot, the council voted 12 to 0 to rescind an earlier resolution to place the measure before voters in a June 6 special election. Under the motion by City Councilwoman Gloria Molina, the measure could come up for a vote during the next citywide election, most probably in June, 1990.
Kenneth Buzzell, vice president of the firefighters union, said firefighters and police officers “could not in good conscience” urge the council to have the issue placed on the ballot when the estimated benefits to widows and surviving children would be about $89,000 in the first year, while the cost to the city would be so much higher.
The measure would have removed the five-year delay that survivors must wait until they are eligible for cost-of-living adjustments.
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